remus lupin is finally at peace. (moonstricken) wrote in blurred_lines, @ 2008-11-12 20:03:00 |
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Entry tags: | ! [1979-11] november, ! npc, james potter, lily potter (née evans), marlene lupin (née mckinnon), peter pettigrew, remus lupin, sirius black |
Who: Marlene McKinnon, Remus Lupin, James Potter, Lily Potter, Peter Pettigrew, Sirius Black, Mrs Potter, and Sammie.
What: Marlene and Remus decide to get married a little earlier than planned.
When: 12 November 1979 at around 6:00 PM.
Where: Amortentia Chapel in Amsterdam, Holland.
Status: Complete
Rating: PG
"Maybe this isn't such a good idea," Remus said, for what had to have been the fifth time that day. Or maybe fifteenth. He couldn't remember. It wasn't that he didn't want to get married; he did, very much, but his nerves were getting to him. He felt on edge with the full moon just around the corner, worried that Marlene might regret rushing their wedding, and still trying to wrap his mind around the fact that, yes, he was getting married today. In less than an hour they would be husband and wife. As Remus looked down the isle where he would soon be standing with Marlene, he wondered if he could fit through the window in the bathroom right across from where they were standing. He didn't think he would make it there without being stunned by one of the guys first, though. "What if she changes her mind?" James rolled his eyes for the millionth time in the last twenty minutes. If Remus kept this up his eyes were going to start cramping. "Remus Judith Lupin, you're going to make me swear in a church," he warned. Was this a church? He wasn't sure since the whole afternoon had been a giant blur, but he knew you weren't supposed to swear in one, hence the threat. "She loves you, you twatty ponce, and she'd be insulted if she knew how little faith you had in her," he pointed out. He wasn't trying to be mean, but sometimes what Remus needed most was tough love, and this was James's way of giving it to him. He sighed and threw his arm around Remus's shoulder. "And if that's not enough to convince you, then think of this... Once you're married, they stop saying no to the really raunchy stuff. Wives do things even Sirius couldn't think up." He tried to deliver that speech convincingly but he busted up laughing as soon as he got the last word out. Despite the laughter at the end of James' speech, Remus still blushed with embarrassment. "You're in a church, James," he muttered, suddenly remembering that his own parents weren't going to be there. Or Marlene's family, or Agnes... he took a deep breath, trying to relax. "I wish they could be here." Remus didn't specify, but he didn't think it would be too difficult to figure out who he was talking about. Even now, just about to be married, he couldn't help thinking of them all, and how much he missed them. This was such a large step in his life that he would have wanted them to be a part of, a day he never thought would come for someone like him; and yet now here he was, about to exchange vows with the woman he loved. Oh, Merlin. The vows. "We're not supposed to have vows, are we? I didn't -- I don't think we thought to write them. Or at least, I didn't." But what if Marlene had written some? He would feel terrible if he had nothing planned to say. "I'm sure you don't have to have any," Peter said. He could understand the sudden attack that Remus was having. It was all coming so fast that even he was having a hard time keeping up with everything, but this was much preferable to talk of murdering psychotic werebitches, so he didn't mind the whirlwind that had come with it. "They'll probably just use that standard love, honour, and obey, better or worse, richer or poor, til death do you part shtick. Unless you ask otherwise," Peter said, a slight frown crossing his face before he looking up at Remus. "You might want to get them to leave out the til death bit. Might sour the whole thing." Not that it wasn't already bittersweet, but any precautions that could be taken to keep the mood from dropping through the floor were good precautions in Peter's mind. Sirius made a face at Peters words; he didn't want to think about death on a glorious evening such as this. "You might want to take out the obey - Marlene probably will." At least, if she was still thinking of Agnes she would. At least this was pretty amazing. Remus Lupin, getting married; who'd have thought it? Certainly not Remus himself. "Put in respect or some other crap." He checked his pockets for his flask, just in case these nerves got worse than they were right now. He just grinned at James in a shared moment of triumph: the 'no one will ever want a werewolf' argument packed a lot less punch when you were married and they'd be happy to see them wed....just in case. "Look at the bright side. At least I won't throw up on you if it's your wedding." James punched Sirius playfully. "No throwing up on me either, you great twat," James said, looking for all the world just as happy as he'd looked on his own wedding day. "And don't worry about the vows," he said. "It takes ages to get a bird suited up for the wedding, so she's not got time for that. And if Lils was writing them for her then she'd be writing some fo you as well," he promised. "It's Lily, she doesn't do anything half-arsed." Growing slightly more serious he looked at Remus and gave him the same smile he'd given him ages ago when he first insisted that Remus was going to be his friend. "Everything's gonna be brilliant, Moony. Best thing to ever happen to you-- even better than me, Pete and Sirius." Suddenly a look of mischief crossed James's face and he turned to Sirius. "I will be right back. Don't let moonpie out of your sight." And with that he bolted. Remus understood what Peter was saying, but he wasn't sure he wanted to ask them to leave out any parts of the ceremony. Not without talking to Marlene about it first, and she was already in the other room getting ready for the wedding. Then again, maybe he should ask to have that one part left out; even if death separated them, he would still love her. Death could never stop that. The thought of ever losing her in that way made him feel slightly ill, and he quickly put a stop to that. Remus fidgeted and ran his hand through his hair, trying to make sure he at least looked presentable if not decent. "If you threw up on me, I think you'd be facing a very angry Marlene, nevermind me. It's probably best not to risk that." The joking around put him at ease again -- well, as much as you could be when you were about to get married. When James took off, Remus didn't even had time to protest -- if anyone was going to get cold feet here, it should be him! Lily came walking in to the main room with the pictures carried carefully in her arms. She didn't see her husband, but she knew he was probably somewhere nearby. Maybe getting Remus a bag to vomit in, like she had had to get for Marlene. "You look wonderful, Remus," Lily said. She would have hugged him tight if she weren't busy cradling Marlene's family in frames. She shifted them carefully so that he could see all the faces smiling out of them. "Listen, Marlene wants these out here. I know you won't mind, but she wanted me to ask you anyway." Remus looked down at the photos, seeing the smiling faces of everyone he had just been thinking of -- everyone who could no longer be here in person. "Yeah, that's... yes, it's fine. I would like them to be out here, too." He had to tear his eyes away from the photos or he was afraid he might break down right there. "Thank you. Oh -- could you do me a favour?" he asked. "When you're setting up the photos, can you ask to leave out the... 'until death' part of the ceremony?" Peter was right. He didn't want death to have anything to do with today. Lily began setting them up, not able to look at Agnes in the picture as she put the pictures out in the front row of seats. It was the best that they could do to fill in the gaps of who ought to be there. She finished placing them and then walked over to Remus and then gave him a huge hug. "Of course I will," she said. She looked at him and smiled brilliantly, resisting the urge to pinch his cheeks. "I'm so happy for you," she said. Remus hugged her back tightly, releasing her when she stepped back, now unable to keep a smile off his face. "Thank you. I'm really glad you're here. Now if James would come back from wherever he's run off too, I think we can get started, if Marlene's ready," he said, feeling no less nervous than he was five minutes ago, but more than ready to make this next big step in their relationship. James came rushing back to the guys just as quickly as he'd run off with a huge smile on his face. A few seconds later Mrs. Potter walked in behind him. "Can't believe you thought you were going to get married without me," she laughed, stepping over to Remus and giving him a motherly kiss on the cheek and a big hug. Her eyes were already brimming with happy tears, and she wasn't letting go until James coughed to get her attention. "Mum, he's not gonna be able to feel his arms if you don't ease up," James teased. He turned his eyes away from Lily when James came back, relieved he wasn't gone for too long. Remus was surprised, however, to find that he hadn't come back alone. "Mrs Potter!" He returned the hug, laughing a little when she didn't let go until James spoke up. "I'm glad you could make it. I didn't know if you were still here... I suppose James filled you in. This was all sort of last minute, but -- I'm glad you're here. Marlene will be happy." Lily squeezed James's arm while Mrs. P enveloped Remus in a hug and gave him a smile, wondering if he was remembering their wedding day just as she was. "I'll be right back," she said. She headed out to go find the officiator to let him know about Remus's request. "I'm going to trip," Marlene stated blankly, staring at her reflection in the mirror. "I'm going to slip on the dress and fall on my arse and die." It would be just her luck. They'd probably use up all the film in the cameras capturing her massive blunder of doom, and that'd be all they would remember until the end of time: that Marlene had fallen and broken her arse bone on her wedding day. Maybe this wasn't such a good idea. It was the day before the full; Remus probably wasn't thinking things through. Hell, neither was she. She was still grieving Agnes, and every time she thought about the fact that Agnes couldn't be there with her Marlene's eyes welled up again, and she got yelled at for ruining her makeup. Hell, she was wearing makeup. She was getting married. It was the first time in months that Marlene felt as though she might have a tiny bit of that so-called Gryffindor bravery lurking somewhere inside herself, even if she was terrified. This is what she wanted, and she couldn't be happier that she at least was getting this. She took one last glance in the mirror before turning away from it slowly, taking a deep breath in attempts to calm her nerves. "Do I look okay?" Lily was in her blue bridesmaid gown that she'd found when they had picked out Marlene's wedding dress. Lily had insisted, and threatened, that she be the one to buy it. Things were so difficult lately that Lily wanted to do as much as she could to take things off Marlene's mind, and she didn't want her best friend to be worrying over things like money when what she really needed was to enjoy her day. "You're not going to fall because you're not in heels," said Lily. She looked more confident than she actually was, and she was going through a rolladex of spells in her mind to try and come up with anything that could prevent Marlene from making a mistake in her nerves. She would probably be fine, but it would always be helpful to come up with something absolutely foolproof. She walked around Marlene and pulled at the edges of the gown so that nothing was bunched. Marlene was gorgeous, and the dress was perfect. Lily's eyes got a bit watery as a hundred memories tackled her. She could remember her mother doing this to her dress on her wedding, and she wished that Agnes could be here, too. Lily hadn't spoken Agnes's name all day. She was sure that Marlene was thinking about her just as much, or maybe more, but she just didn't have the heart to bring it up. She wanted Marlene to be deliriously happy as she made this commitment. "Marlene," said Lily, standing up to look at her and putting her hands on the other woman's shoulders. "You don't look just ok. You look perfect." She smiled, her eyes still a bit misty. "And I'd just throw my arms around you but I don't want to wrinkle anything." She let out a little laugh and went to fetch Mrs. P's jewelry box. "Now we just have to add the finishing touches." "10 Galleons says that Remus is crawling out the window out there," she laughed a little nervously, her voice quiet, glancing towards the doorway she was set to make her "grand entrance" through. She'd been quiet for about the last half hour, the reality of the day finally hitting her. She wondered what her parents would have thought of her and Remus practically eloping. They'd barely even known the two were dating, her mum had freaked out over Remus being a werewolf... her brother wasn't here to threaten to beat him down if he did anything to hurt her. Marlene wasn't sure if she could do this. "Hold on a second, okay?" she said, ducking out and away from Lily's hovering and moving towards the overstuffed chair that her bag was laying on, sliding it out from underneath Sammie, who was snoozing on top of it. She pulled out three picture frames, one with a photograph of her family in it, another with Agnes, and the third with Remus's parents in it (which she'd stolen when he wasn't looking, just in case). "Can you set these up out there for me?" she asked Lily, handing the frames over to her friend. "Ask Remus, though, about his before putting it up. I just thought that they should be here, and this is as close as... I didn't want to bring mine and not give him the chance to have his," she explained, feeling that annoying quiver in the back of her throat again. "Aw fuck it, I am just not wearing mascara," she laughed a little, trying to blink back any lurking, threatening tears. "Remus isn't going anywhere," Lily said. She was counting on the boys to keep her from being a liar. "I'm sure he's probably afraid you're doing the same thing. The two of you can be so funny sometimes." She watched as Marlene went to get the pictures and took them carefully from her. "I'm sure he'd be happy to have them there," she said. "I'll go and speak to them. You stay here and pick something beautiful to borrow, alright?" She moved out of the door to give Marlene a few last moments of privacy as a single lady, to talk with Remus. Mrs. Potter was well on her way out of the country, saying goodbye to the last of her friends before leaving England for what she thought might be the final time when the pop of apparition gave her reason to turn around. She hadn't expected to see James there, since he'd been the one to insist she make other arrangements that wouldn't put her in danger from having him around, but the huge grin on his face gave her no reason to worry anything was wrong. "Moony and Marlene are getting married!" he said, giddy with excitement, "and I'm dragging you back to surprise them," he added. Mrs. P wasn't about to disagree, seeing as she loved both of them like they were her own, and so that was why she was now knocking lightly on the door to get Marlene's attention. "You look beautiful, dear," she said, her eyes brimming with tears of joy. The room had gotten extremely quiet once Lily had left the room, the only sound remaining being Sammie snoring lightly in her chair. Marlene hoped that the dog would wake up before they started... which was going to be very very soon... oh god, maybe this wasn't the best plan, maybe they should've waited til New Year. She couldn't understand why in the world they referred to it as getting cold feet, because Marlene felt a bit like someone had cranked the temperature up in the room as high as it would go. She looked in the mirror again, shoving her hair back behind her ears -- deciding against that and leaving it covering them -- deciding against that and moving her hair back behind her ears again, when she heard another voice in the room. "Oh my god, Mrs. P," Marlene gasped happily, spinning away from the mirror and towards the door to pull James's mum into the room, wrapping her in a grateful hug. "I am so sorry we couldn't come get you ourselves; I thought you were on your way back to Norway or... thank you so much for coming," she smiled, pulling back (and fixing the thin sleeve on her dress so that it covered up her shoulder again, not wanting to deal with that glaring reminder when she was supposed to be focusing on getting married. And not tripping.) "Jamie came to get me," she said proudly. "He knows I'd have taken him across my knee for the spanking of his life if I'd have missed this," she added. "I think of you and Remus as two of the children I always wanted when I dreamed about my big family," she said, nudging Marlene's hand aside and pulling out her wand. "Allow me, dear," she said, shifting it into place and then casting a cosmetic spell that would keep it there. "Back when I was in school the rules about our skirt length were ridiculous and so we found all sort of spells to keep them in just the right place. Short enough to keep the boys looking, but long enough that Professor Weeble wouldn't start casting elongating spells," she laughed. For Mrs. P this was the happiest she'd been since Ira died. There was nothing but overwhelming happiness written across her face for Marlene and Remus. While Mrs. Potter's being there didn't replace the fact that Marlene's own parents couldn't be, she was endlessly thankful that the one parental figure she had left was. Marlene loved Mrs. P, and having her at the wedding meant the world to her, especially when everything else was thrown together at the last minute. It didn't matter to her that it wasn't the fairytale wedding that little girls dream of, or that all the people she wished could be there weren't. She was getting married to Remus, and that is what mattered to her. Everything else that they'd managed to pull together in a few hours was just sprinkles on top. "Thanks," she smiled at her, blinking a few times to clear her eyes. Lily was gone; they didn't have time to fix her makeup again. "I'm so glad that you're here." She glanced towards the door, thinking she'd heard music begin playing... oh Merlin, this was actually happening. "Okay quick, hair behind ears or in front of ears?" she asked, an edge of panic creeping slightly into her voice. "And um, would you mind taking pictures for me? Of everything except when I probably go tripping and rolling down the aisle?" "Behind," Mrs. Potter said, "Because if it's in front you'll be fidgeting with it the whole time," she said, reaching up to tuck the hair into place. "And I would be happy to take pictures, but no rolling your eyes at me when I start posing you, missy," she said. "Indulge an old woman and all that. I would never want you to mention this to James, but my wedding day was the happiest day of my life. The day I found out I was pregnant was a close second, but becoming Mrs. Ira Potter--" She faded into silence for a moment as her mind found the memory and then the smile on her face grew radiant. "There's nothing quite like belong with someone. Belonging to someone," she said. She took a few steps back. "Now let me get one last final look at you." "Behind it is," she nodded, fixing her hair one last time and taking a step back so that Mrs. P could get that final look. This was it. She smiled a little bit nervously at Mrs. Potter, biting her lower lip. She was right. In a few more minutes she was going to be Mrs. Marlene Lupin (even if they weren't officially changing her last name until after the war was over). While it made her inner feminist revolt a little at the idea of belonging to someone (Marlene blamed Agnes for instilling that in her, and she was glad that she had), she knew that she belonged with Remus, and that was enough. That was more than enough. "I think I'm ready to do this." As the music began to play, Remus stood nervously at the alter, feeling as if this were a dream or some sort of alternate reality. This was it. Soon, Marlene would be walking down the isle in her wedding dress, and just that thought made him feel both even more nervous and happy at the same time. It was then that he recalled the rings, patting his pockets for them and pulling the pair of plain gold wedding bands out of the left one. He turned to face his friends who were standing beside him, and held out the rings for Sirius to take. "Can you hold onto them?" he asked in a hushed tone, feeling it only fair that Sirius got to be the ring bearer since he wasn't letting him write a speech, even if he was one of the best men. "Don't lose them," he warned, despite the short time Sirius would actually be holding them for. It was Sirius Black, after all, and you could never be too careful with him. Sirius gave his friend a very indignant look which was almost immediately replaced with a wide grin. It wasn't impossible that Sammie would, somehow, manage to eat the rings so he kept his hands on them just in case. This was only one thing short (and it was a very short someone that was likely the reason) of jumping up and down with excitement. Sometimes people who belong together just take a little while to realise it and it was always nice when they did, because there was usually cake involved. "Very nice. Minimal shaking." He noted with approval. "If you try to take off running now, my mum'll hex you," James leaned up to whisper to Remus mischieviously. "She's fast for an old woman." More seriously though, he put a hand on Remus's arm. "You're doing the right thing, and you deserve this. I honestly don't think there's another woman in the world who I'd trust with your love more than Marlene. So no over-thinking," he said. Quieting down when the harp plucked a little louder, announcing the arrival of the "flower dog". Within moments of Lily's return to the back room that Marlene had been getting ready in, the harp that James had insisted on having began to strum out the procession song from inside the chapel. Marlene laughed a little nervously at the music, despite feeling completely sure of herself in doing this. This was more "right" than anything had been in a long time. Nudging Sammie off the chair she was sprawled on as she boredly watched the girls prepare, Marlene moved the basset hound to the doorway out in the main hall, cracking the door open so that their "flower girl" could walk town the aisle. They had one of her toys laying under a chair near the front of the room as a treat after she did her part, and it had never occurred to Marlene that her genius of a dog, the puppy who knew to pee on death eaters, wouldn't pick up on what her job at the wedding was intended to be. But after padding two tiny steps out the doorway, Sammie was back sitting on her bum, laying down on her front paws, ears cocked in slight confusion as to what that noise was coming from the giant stringed thing. Marlene waited a few seconds before concluding that Sammie wasn't going to change her mind and get back up on her own, and stuck her head just barely through the door. "Go on Sammie! Go see Remus!" she whispered encouragingly to the dog, who stared back at Marlene with her head tilted. "Go see Remus, Sammie! He has a treat for you!" she waved her along. Sammie apparently picked up on a magic word and went shooting down the aisle, plopping down on top of Remus's foot to wait for her gift. Luckily she noticed her toy penguin laying under the chair in the front row and toddled off to fetch it, plopping down and gnawing on it with a squeak. Remus couldn't manage to hold back a small chuckle at the fact that there was actually a dog in their wedding party. Well, two, if you counted Sirius, but at least he was walking on two legs. He heard Marlene try to encourage Sammie to walk down the isle with the promise of a treat, and he patted his leg to get her attention. Luckily, Marlene had already said what Sammie needed to hear to make it the rest of the way down the isle. The squeak that resounded from the dog toy made Remus wince, but he was still smiling. Sometimes, not doing something the 'normal' way was a good thing. Lily had done the bridesmaid thing for Petunia. It was now her third time down the aisle and she felt like she was becoming a pro at it. She couldn't help but laugh as Sammie went running down the aisle, and took a look at Marlene. "You look perfect," she whispered. "And this is probably the best decision you've ever made." She gave her a quick hug, taking care not to mess up their dresses or their flowers and then straightened up and began walking down the aisle to the harp, stepping carefully and smiling right at Remus, James, and the other boys. The music changed again, and it was all on her now. These were her last few seconds as a single woman, her final few moments as a McKinnon. It suddenly caught in her throat for a brief moment that there wouldn't be any McKinnons left after this, that she was the last, and that her father wasn't there to walk her down the aisle. A moment later that passed. This would all be left in the past, and she and Remus could move on to starting their lives together, working towards hopefully happier moments than they'd been dealt in the days and months leading up to today. Checking to make sure her dress looked right as she moved into the main room and toward the aisle, Marlene moved slowly towards the front of the room, her smile feeling more real than it had in days. Lily had been absolutely right; this had been the best decision she'd ever made. Even though there were definitely spaces amongst the wedding party that should've been filled, even though Marlene knew that everyone in the room was perfectly aware that the only thing she was thinking was "don't trip don't trip don't trip," everything about this felt right. She joined the others up in the front of the hall within moments, her smile never faltering or fading in the slightest as she looked at Remus. At her future husband. Maybe they could just skip all that other stuff and move right on to the kissing the bride thing. There was nothing in the world in that very moment that could bring Remus to look away from Marlene as she began to walk down the isle toward him. She looked more beautiful today than ever before in his eyes, and he wasn't sure if it was because of the dress or the make-up she was wearing, or because of the occasion, or just because of the radiant smile she had on her face when she looked at him. Remus did not know how he was so lucky to find a girl like Marlene who wanted to spend the rest of her life with him, but he was not about to question her feelings, and he certainly had no reservations about his own. "You look beautiful," he whispered, before turning his attention to the old wizard standing behind the alter when he cleared his throat to begin speaking. "Ladies and gentlemen, we are gathered here today to celebrate the union of two faithful souls. We have been invited to share with Remus Lupin and Marlene McKinnon a very important moment in their lives. In the time they have been together, their love and understanding of each other has grown and matured, and now they have decided to live their lives together as husband and wife. Remus and Marlene, life is given to each of us as individuals, and yet we must learn to live together. Love is given to us by our family or by our friends. We learn to love by --" there was a brief interruption by Sammie making her toy give a particularly loud squeak, but the officiant continued, "-- by being loved. Learning to love and living together is one of the greatest challenges of life -- and is the shared goal of a married life." The officiant paused to push his glasses back up the bridge of his nose before he continued to speak, turning to look at Remus. "Do you, Remus Lupin, take Marlene McKinnon to be your wife? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect her, forsaking all others and holding only unto her?" Remus could feel his heart beating quickly in his chest, because even though they were standing here together now, it still seemed almost surreal that this was actually happening. He smiled again at Marlene before looking at the officiant to give his reply. "I do." The old wizard then turned to Marlene to ask her the same question. "Do you, Marlene McKinnon, take Remus Lupin to be your husband? Do you promise to love, honour, cherish and protect him, forsaking all others and holding only unto him?" He had barely finished his line when Marlene answered him, her smile never ceasing, never looking away from Remus as she replied. "I do." "Wedding rings are an outward and visible sign of an inward spiritual grace and the unbroken circle of love, signifying to all the union of this man and this woman in marriage. You may now exchange the rings," the officiant said, and when he was finished, Remus turned to look at Sirius to get the rings from him. Sirius had been watching intently before he suddenly realised Remus was staring at him. Oh! The rings, right. He'd almost forgotten about them from listening to Remus Jane Lupin say 'I do.' He never thought the day would come. Mind you, he supposed Marlene McKinnon could convince anyone of anything by speaking enough to make their ears bleed. In all honesty, he'd been expecting Marlene to do the proposing and Remus to be walking down the aisle in a dress. He'd have, of course, given him away. "Oh, uh, here." He said, fumbling them into Remus' hand. Remus grinned at Sirius as he closed his hand over the rings, saying his thanks before turning back to Marlene and giving her the ring she was meant to give to him. He took a deep breath, taking her hand in his and holding the ring up to her finger. "This ring I give to you as a token of my love and devotion to you. I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be as your husband." He then began sliding the ring onto her finger as she spoke the next lines. "With this ring, I gladly marry you and join my life to yours." Marlene held tight to Remus's ring as he said his vows, placing her ring on her finger. Now she just needed to not drop it -- she was sure that if Sirius could manage to not lose the rings while he was holding on to them that she could manage. She paused for a moment after Remus had finished, carefully shifting the loose ring into her other palm, taking Remus's hand in the other. "This ring I give to you as a token of my love and devotion to you. I pledge to you all that I am and all that I will ever be as your wife. With this ring," Marlene said as she returned the gesture, gently slipping the ring onto his finger, "I gladly marry you and join my life to yours." The officiant wizard smiled at them both as they finished exchanging the rings, and he turned a page on the alter to continue the ceremony. "Your first gift to each other for your wedding today has been your wedding rings - which shall always be an outward demonstration of your vows of love and respect and a public showing of your commitment to each other. In addition, you both have given and received one of the most valuable and precious gifts of life - one I hope you always remember - the gift of true and abiding love within the devotion of marriage. You now have what remains the most honorable title that exists between a woman and a man - the title of 'wife' and 'husband.' It is now my great privilege to be the first to address you as wife and husband and for your first gift as wife and husband, that gift will be a single red rose bud." He raised his wand, muttering a summoning spell and two rose buds floated toward him. Plucking them out of the air, he handed one to Marlene and then one to Remus. "The rose is considered a symbol of love and a single rose always means only one thing - it means, 'I love you.' So it is appropriate that for your first gift - as wife and husband - that gift would be a single rose bud. Please exchange the rose buds as your first gift to each other as wife and husband." Remus turned to Marlene again, and he offered the rose bud to her as instructed, never taking his eyes off her. Marlene had only first heard of the rose ceremony a few days earlier, and had completely forgotten about it (all things considered) until about four minutes before leaving the house. It was sweet on its own, and it naturally appealed to her inner Herbology nerd. She accepted Remus's rose, and moved to pass hers off to him. She tapped him lightly on the nose with the flower before giggling lightly, setting the rose into his hand with a wide smile. After the exchange of roses, the old wizard began speaking again. "Within these rose buds, if given proper loving care, is the potential for an even more beautiful expression of Life and Love in the form of the mature flower. And so it is with your marriage. At this point your marriage is like these rose buds - ready, with proper loving care - to unfold into a very beautiful expression of life. Remus and Marlene, if there is anything you remember of this marriage ceremony, it is that it was love that brought you here today, it is only love which can make it a glorious union, and it is by love which your marriage shall endure. Whatever the situation, love, understanding, acceptance and forgiveness can make everything right." The officiant lifted his wand above their heads and declared, "I now pronounce you bonded for life. You may now kiss the bride." He waved his wand, a shower of silver stars falling down upon them as Remus leaned in to kiss Marlene for the first time as husband and wife. Sirius had been right; he was so happy. An excited, impatient energy had been building up inside Marlene for the entirety of the ceremony, especially now that she knew it was nearing its conclusion. The rest of the room seemed to blur into itself; the officiant, Remus's best men, her maid of honour, Sammie (who was still chewing away on that toy penguin of hers). All that was left was Remus, her husband, who she was going to spend the rest of her days with. Marlene couldn't've been happier. She wrapped her arms around his shoulders returning the kiss, not wanting the moment to end, never wanting to let him go. If they could've spent the rest of their lives just like this, Marlene would've been completely happy. Remus slid his arms around Marlene's waist and hugged her, before finally breaking the kiss as the silvery stars dissolved into the air around them. He almost didn't want to leave the chapel; he knew once they did, they would be walking back into their lives, back to the war and the loss of their loved ones; but they would also be walking out into a new beginning of their lives together. Staying in one place would mean never living their lives, and that was something he wanted to do -- and Remus wanted to make sure that every day of it would go by with Marlene at his side. When the closing music began to play, he offered his wife his arm, walking together with her back down the isle as the ceremony came to a close. |